There was an article on facebook. Fortuitously it was on one of the rare days I too am on facebook. It told of a bold new kind of store which took all the angst out of what to have for dinner. I was intrigued.
So I rallied the troop, and Himself and I set off on a bold new adventure; to buy dinner.
Oh what Brave New World that has such people in’t! Who could come up with such a marvellous idea and bring it to fruition! Would you like to know more?
Hallo mijn faithful readers! The Netherlands is in the middle of a long weekend, so I hope you’ll forgive the brevity of this post.
I wasn’t long in Amsterdam before I noticed that some of the paving tiles in the streets of Amsterdam had ladybugs on them. It’s a joyous little touch that adds light and happiness to my day, and a smile to my face whenever I see them.
It took me a little while to figure out what they were, and what they were for. Mostly because I kept forgetting to look them up when I got back to a computer. When I did take a photo, and therefore remember to search them, it turned out that they are to raise awareness for the National Foundation Against Senseless Violence. (Link in Nederlands.)
As a concept I love it! And it’s a cause I can definitely get behind! As someone who wasn’t around when the project was launched, they aren’t obviously apparent what they represent.
But they are a sweet ray of sunshine in a very overcast Spring.
Welcome to the week everyone!
Who’d have thought this day would come upon us so fast? We flew out of Sydney a year ago. It’s one of those strange sets of circumstances where it simultaneously feels like we’ve been here forever, and like we only just got here. Time has passed in the blink of an eye, yet has taken so long for some events to pass or come to fruition, that we thought they’d never arrive. We’ve learnt and grown so much, and yet, there is still so much further to go.
As my first semester of Dutch language class draws to a close, I realise there is still a long way for me to go. I try hard not to feel inundated or intimidated, and remind myself that I’m still learning and refining my use of the English language every day. Some days I’m a better self-motivational speaker than others. I plug on.
The local crocuses have bloomed and are now withering in the turf, waiting to be carved up the next time the lawn is mowed. They have been replaced by the daffodils nodding in the breeze along the sides of the roads and canals.
With this in mind I was aware that we’d have to be getting our butts to de Keukenhof shortly! I didn’t want to miss the massive explosions of colour like we kind of did last year. If you remember, we saw it in its dying stages only, and a lot of it was being dug up when we were there.
I knew this year all the tulips were running late because of the extended cold weather we’d been having, and I was trying to time it just right while still being anxious about missing it!
As our tour bus drove us past the flower beds which should have been full of riotous colour, they were still desperately trying to come into bloom, and hence, a little lacklustre. Though you can see the red beginning to peek through here, and some yellow off in the distance. Through the rain. Yeah, did I ever pick a good day to go!
Yes, apparently this year, not only did I pick a rainy day to go, but the flowers still weren’t in bloom yet!
Interestingly we thought, knowing that Keukenhof is only going to be open for such a limited time, and the weather wasn’t playing ball, they had brought in “ring-ins” to put down the walkways. You can see them here with the still green flowerbed to each side.
Reasons I love the Netherlands number 1654764513 … 5
Did you know there’s a moving Fair? It’s called Kermis, and you can track its progress around Holland here.
And we went! It was in Dam Square! You can’t keep me away from a fair!
But I was a bit sick, so we only went up on the Ferris Wheel, as I think spinning around, upside down, in 3C, with wind-chill factor, and no hat, wouldn’t have done my blocked ears or head cold much good.
We watched other people be upside-down on the fun rides though.
ghoti industries 